African immigration to the United States
African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.[2]
Sub-Saharan Africans in the United States come from almost all regions in Africa and do not constitute a homogeneous group. They include peoples from different national, linguistic, ethnic, racial, cultural and social backgrounds.[3] U.S. and foreign born Sub-Saharan Africans are different and distinct from native-born African Americans, many of whose ancestors were involuntarily brought from West Africa to the colonial United States by means of the historic Atlantic slave trade. African immigration is now driving the growth of the Black population in New York City.[4]
Immigration Legislation[edit]
Citizenship[edit]
In the 1870s, the Naturalization Act was extended to allow "aliens, being free white persons and to aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent" to acquire citizenship. Immigration from Africa was theoretically permitted, unlike non-white immigration from Asia.
Quotas enacted between 1921 and 1924[edit]
Several laws enforcing national origins quotas on U.S. immigration were enacted between 1921 and 1924 and were in effect until they were repealed in 1965. While the laws were aimed at restricting the immigration of Jews and Catholics from Southern and Eastern Europe and immigration from Asia, they also impacted African immigrants. The legislation effectively excluded Africans from entering the country.
The Emergency Quota Act of 1921 restricted immigration from a given country to 3% of the number of people from that country living in the U.S. according to the census of 1910. The Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the Johnson-Reed Act, reduced that to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the U.S. in 1890. Under the system, the quota for immigrants from Africa (excluding Egypt) totaled 1,100 (the number was increased to 1,400 under the 1952 McCarran–Walter Act.) [5] That contrasted to immigrants from Germany, which had a limit of 51,227.[6]
Repeal of quotas[edit]
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, repealed the national quotas and subsequently there was a substantial increase in the number of immigrants from developing countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. This act also provided a separate category for refugees. The act also provided greater opportunity for family reunification.
Diversity Immigrant Visa[edit]
The Diversity Visa Program, or green card lottery, is a program created by the Immigration Act of 1990. It allows people born in countries with low rates of immigration to the United States to obtain a lawful permanent resident status. Each year, 50,000 of those visas are distributed at random. Almost 38% of those visas were attributed to African born immigrants in 2016.[7] African born persons also represent the most numerous group among the applicants since 2013.[8] The application is free of charge, and the requirements in terms of education are either a high school diploma or two years of a professional experience requiring at least two years of training.
Health[edit]
U.S. immigrants that come from predominantly black nations in Africa are generally healthier than black immigrants from predominantly white nations or from Europe. A study conducted by Jen'nan Ghazal Read, a sociology professor at the UC Irvine, and Michael O. Emerson, a sociology professor at Rice University, studied the health of more than 2,900 black immigrants from top regions of emigration: the West Indies, Africa, South America and Europe. Black people born in Africa and South America have been shown to be healthier than U.S.-born black people.[40][41] The study was published in the September issue of Social Forces and is the first to look at the health of black immigrants by their region of origin.[42]
Culture[edit]
African immigrants tend to retain their culture once in the United States. Instead of abandoning their various traditions, they find ways to reproduce and reinvent themselves.[43] Cultural bonds are cultivated through shared ethnic or national affiliations. Some organizations like the Ghanaian group Fantse-Kuo and the Sudanese Association organize by country, region, or ethnic group. Other nonprofits like the Malawi Washington Association[44] organize by national identity, and are inclusive of all Malawians. Other groups present traditional culture from a pan-African perspective. Using traditional skills and knowledge, African-born entrepreneurs develop services for immigrants and the community at large. In the Washington area, events such as the annual Ethiopian soccer tournament, institutions such as the AME Church African Liberation Ministry, and "friends" and "sister cities" organizations bring together different communities. The extent to which African immigrants engage in these activities naturally varies according to the population.
Cultural Influence[edit]
Television[edit]
Many local cable channels are now purchasing programming channels operated by various African communities. For example, the Africa Channel is broadcast in the United States through Comcast, Charter Communications, Cox Communications and also available in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Barbados, Bermuda, Grenada and other islands throughout the Caribbean.[47] The channel is a showcase for outstanding travel, lifestyle and cultural series, specials and documentaries. These programs feature people of African descent and their stories. The network's premiere on September 1, 2005, marked a milestone in U.S. television history. For the first time, American audiences were able to experience the successes, celebrations and challenges of people living throughout Africa and the Diaspora, all via a general entertainment network. The network is broadcast in the U.S. through national distribution deals with the largest cable MSOs in the country, including Comcast, Charter, and Cox. TV news services such as the Nigerian Television Authority, South African Broadcasting Channel and Ethiopian Television Programming are also available in some areas.
Restaurants[edit]
Immigrants from Africa have opened restaurants in urban areas. The DC, Atlanta and NYC Metro areas host many eateries belonging to the Liberian, Senegalese, Nigerian, Ethiopian, Tanzanian, South African and other communities.
Music[edit]
The New York Times and academic scholar Nnamdi O. Madichie have credited American African artists Kelela and Akon for employing fluidity of their cultural heritage through their U.S. and African identities. Recently, academic scholars have brought attention to the influence of African American music on U.S. culture. According to ethnomusicologist Portia Maultsby, African immigrant artists have impacted the U.S. through fashion and mainstream music by utilizing their cultural heritage as a foundation for their artistry. In "Marketing Senegal through hip-hop-a discourse analysis of Akon's music and lyrics", Madichie cites Senegalese-American singer, Akon, as a first-generation African immigrant musician whose music and lyrics create a confluence of West Africa-styled vocals mixed with North America's East Coast and Southern beats.[48] In Mama Africa and Senegal, Akon builds connections between Diasporic communities and the "homeland" through his music.[48]
An examination of the role of Black American entrepreneurs in the hip-hop industry suggests that young Black people have been able to influence the White dominated music industry through transforming "Blackness into capital, staffing and business connections".[49] The New York Times article, "25 Songs That Tell Us Where Music Is Going" illustrates how African immigrants have used their heritage to influence a new sound of mainstream music in the U.S.[50] Wortham cites Kelela, an Ethiopian-American musician, as an American African immigrant who has impacted U.S. culture by defying the notion that Blackness is monolithic through music that pushes the boundaries of R&B in uninhibited experimentation.[50]
Ethnomusicologist Mellonee Burnim's area of aesthetic significance are style of delivery, sound quality, and mechanics of delivery-qualities common to African-derived music.[51] Style of delivery is one of the most important aspects of Africanisms in music. This refers to the stage presentation and physical appearance of when music is performed.[52] Physical appearance is a fundamental part of the Black cultural expression in regard to African-American music. The sways and sashays as well as the physical appearance of African immigrant musicians has a significant influence on U.S. culture exemplified through fashion trends.[52]
Along with style of delivery, sound quality is another significant tradition of Black music that derives from Africanisms.[53] The sound quality of African-American music distinguishes itself because of its African sentiments that are foreign to Western patterns.[52] Maultsby describes how in Africa and the black diaspora, black musicians have managed to cultivate an array of unique sounds that imitate nature, animals, spirits, and speech into their music.[51] Mechanics of delivery involves improvisation of time, text, and pitch to deliver Black audiences a variety in performances.[54]
Textures can be increased through solo voices or adding layers of handclaps. This technique described as "staggered entrances" derives from the improvised singing of slaves.[54] Time is another basic component that can be expanded by extending the length of notes. Finally, pitch produces juxtaposing voices of different ranges in a single voice.[51]
Visibility[edit]
Notable African academics in the U.S. include full tenured professors at the nation's top universities, including, at MIT, Elfatih A.B. Eltahir from Sudan;[55]
at Caltech, 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Winner Ahmed Zewail from Egypt; at Yale, professor Lamin Sanneh[56] from Gambia; at Pennsylvania State University, professor Augustin Banyaga, from Rwanda; at Harvard, professors Jacob Olupona,[57] from Nigeria, Barack Obama Sr. from Kenya, Emmanuel K. Akyeampong from Ghana,[58] Biodun Jeyifo from Nigeria,[58] and John Mugane from Kenya;[58] and at Princeton, Adel Mahmoud [59] from Egypt, Wole Soboyejo[60] from Nigeria, Simon Gikandi[61] from Kenya, V. Kofi Agawu from Ghana,[62] and Kwame Anthony Appiah from Ghana.
In sports, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Darlington Nagbe, and Freddy Adu are prominent.
Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron, entrepreneur Elon Musk, and Grammy Award-winning musician Dave Matthews, are all white South Africans; and two-time Academy Award-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou and Grammy-winning musician Angelique Kidjo, both from Benin; and recently Lupita Nyong'o and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, are most notable.